Atlas V Rocket Successfully Launches Missile Warning Satellite From Cape Canaveral

The United Launch Alliance successfully launched the Atlas V rocket from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Friday, Jan. 20. The rocket took off at 7:42 p.m. ET on a mission that is valued at around $1.2 billion.

The rocket launch was initially scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 19. An issue involving the main engine had already caused a half-hour delay, but when the rocket was finally ready for takeoff, an aircraft flew into the restricted launch airspace, prompting officials to move the launch to the next day.

The weather squadron of the U.S. Air Force cited that conditions were favorable by 70 percent when the 19-story workhorse thundered away from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

The Journey Of Atlas V

Tech Times reported that the Atlas V will be carrying a 10,000-pound geosynchronous missile detection satellite designed by the U.S. Air Force.

The satellite, also referred to as Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) GEO-3, was dropped off in orbit 44 minutes later, on its way to a surveillance post more than 22,000 miles above the surface of Earth.

Reports suggest that Atlas V's Russian-built RD-180 engine generated 860,200 pounds of thrust and quickly boosted the rocket and its payload out of the dense lower atmosphere.

Four minutes after the liftoff the engine shut down as planned and then the flight continued on the power of the Centaur second stage's single hydrogen-fueled Aerojet Rocketdyne RL10C engine. After a second Centaur "burn," the SBIRS was released to fly on its own in an initially elliptical orbit.

For the next nine days, the thrusters placed on board will put the solar-powered spacecraft into the circular orbit, situated 22,300 miles above the equator.

"Geo Flight 3 will provide faster and more accurate missile warning to the warfighter, detect dimmer events and shorter missile burns than the ... DSP satellites," says Dennis Bythewood, the director of the Air Force's Space and Missile Systems Center in Los Angeles.

SBIRS GEO-3

GEO-3 will join the other two satellites GEO-1 and GEO-2 that are already up there and were launched in 2011 and 2013, respectively. The satellites are all built by Lockheed Martin.

The satellites are reportedly equipped with two infrared imagers, one will scan the disc of the Earth while the other one will focus on specific areas of interest.

A fourth SIBRS satellite is scheduled for launch in November 2017. The four-satellite "constellation," in contrast to satellites that can only view what is directly below them, will be able to view the entire planet, scanning and surveying wide areas, Lockheed said.

The sensors in the satellite can detect the heat of any missile produced during a rocket launch and will be able to quickly trace the course of the missile from its original location. The fifth and sixth SIBRS satellites are still in production.